EPT
StarTale_Life![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/09xXo1f.jpg)
Source: This Is Game
You were able to take the victory in the opening Code S match. How do you feel?
Lately, Zergs have been going downhill so things weren't looking really great for us for ZvPs but I feel so good that I won today's match. I will show a great form for the Ro16 as well.
After you saw who was in your group, how did you prepare for your matches?
I focused on solidifying the basics by practicing mostly on ladder.
For this season, there have been an addition of new maps.
I practiced Planet S and Akilon Flats mostly. I haven't tried Icarus yet. I decided to ignore it since I didn't think that my opponents were going to pick Icarus either.
Did the most recent patch impact your play at all?
It's impossible to win against Protoss using only infestor/brood lord now (laughs). You have to throw in corruptors along with that composition now.
Against Creator, you showed unique expansion strategies.
My strategy was specifically targeted at handling phoenixes. I accidentally forgot to upgrade roach speed for a bit so I was in trouble for a moment there but I prepared everything with the thought that I would win no matter what.
For the second set, you set up a perfect sim city at your second expansion and completely blocked your opponent's attack.
I saw his army composition so I built a ton of spine crawlers and spore crawlers around my hatchery. As expected, I blocked his attack really well. I didn't even think that he would come attack me with that kind of army composition. That kind of scenario didn't even come out during practice.
As a Zerg player, how do you feel about the new maps?
Personally, I think they are Protoss favored maps. As long as I don't meet any Protosses I think I can easily make it to the finals.
You advanced to the Ro16 and to the group nominations. Anyone you specifically want to face?
I want to face Soulkey again. I want to grab revenge for my loss last time. My feelings have been hurt a little because people around me have been saying that Soulkey is better than me. I want to grab revenge no matter what.
Anything else you would like to say?
I want to thank my supervisors and coaches. I also am really grateful to the fans. Lastly, I want to thank my teammates for helping me with practice and our sponsors Red Bull, ZOWIE Gear, and Joy Gear.
Teamless_Symbol![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/ayzk4jh.jpg)
Source: This Is Game
You've advanced to the Ro16 two seasons in a row. How do you feel?
When I first advanced to Code S, I made it all the way to the Ro8 twice. Back then, I had no idea that that was such a big achievement but now that I think about it, it was a really big achievement. It was so difficult.
After seeing who was in your group, where did you put your focus on?
I put a lot of weight into the first match. The final match up was going to be on Icarus but I didn't get to practice on it a lot so I was planning on avoiding it. I know I'm just putting blame on something else but during the matches, my computer started lagging. Thanks to that, I made mistakes and ended up allowing a loss to occur. I've lost to Life before in the past so I wanted to grab revenge for that but I was unable to so it was disappointing.
What was the definitive reason you lost to Life?
In the build order battles, I was the victor. Life decided on an aggressive build order so I there was no need for me to force engagements to occur. But as it turns out, my avoiding of engagement backfired on me because the game progressed differently than I expected and Life played really well also.
In the losers' round, your victory was rather an easy one.
I had practiced a lot of ZvZ so I wasn't feeling a lot of pressure behind the fact that it was another ZvZ. I approached the losers' round with the thought that it was a warm up for the final round. I think the fact that ByuL lost game one affected him pretty significantly and that effect followed him all the way to game two. I think I was able to win easily because of that.
In your match against Creator, you pulled off a comeback.
I didn't practice a lot on Icarus so I just remembered how the map was formed. That map is very different from the already existing maps so personally, I just didn't like that map. I got supply blocked constantly and I made mistakes that I normally never make. I think Creator prepared really well. I didn't expect Creator to go for an all in. I cut off two of his zealots early on so I didn't think he was going to attack me afterwards. After I saw his all in coming I sighed. If it was the me from the past, I probably would have blocked it easily but even with luck following I blocked it difficultly.
How do you feel about the new maps?
I think that Zerg is okay on Planet S overall. For Akilon Flats, I think that ZvP is difficult and for ZvT, the better player wins. I don't know about Icarus for sure since I haven't practiced on it a lot but I think ZvT is going to be really difficult.
You are still teamless since TSL disbanded.
I'm still trying to find out about my options and I'm also waiting for replies. I've been rising as a player lately so I hope teams will take that into consideration as they evaluate me.
You have group nominations coming up. Is there a certain group you want to form?
I don't really have a player I want to face specifically. But I do think that a lot of Zerg players are going to make it up. Normally I am pretty weak when it comes ZvZs but I do want to challenge myself so I would like to go into a group of four zergs. I also think that a four Zerg group will come out regardlesss (laughs).
Anything else you would like to say?
I want to thank HyuN hyung and RagnaroK for coming to cheer me on today. There are still several TSL players who are teamless but they are all players with bright futures so I hope a lot of teams will contact them. I've moved back home since the team disbanded and I want to thank my parents for believing in me and supporting me. Lastly, I want to be able to overcome the fact that I am weak at ZvZ for this season. I hope a good Zerg player will pick me.
